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The 2015 winter Nielsen ratings report was released recently and B95 was the top local station by a large margin. That’s according to a survey done from Jan. 1 to March 25.

A few points need to be made before I go any further. Listeners like to know how their stations stack up to others in the market. Unlike those who run radio stations, there’s not as much emphasis on demographics. A good radio station boss can take Nielsen numbers and make their radio station sound like the biggest thing since the invention of the stereo.

There’s not enough room to report all the demographics that range according to age, sex and other factors. The numbers being reported here is a middle ground of the average number of people — 12 years old and up — who listened to one of the local radio stations during a quarter hour between 6 a.m. and midnight. This measurement reflects more than 777,000 people although only about 1,500 are sampled.

The Nielsen Company does not allow for the use of specific ratings numbers. But, here is what those numbers reveal.

KBOS (FM 94.9) posted a quarter-hour share rating that was more than two points higher that KMJ (AM 580). It’s a big jump considering the two stations were only separated by a 0.3 share rating in the fall survey.

About Rick Bentley

Want to know why the format changed on your favorite radio station
or what's going on with your favorite TV reporter? Rick Bentley tracks all the moves in the Fresno-area broadcast media. Oh,
and he tracks Valley folks making it in Hollywood. Email Rick at rbentley@fresnobee.com or call him at 559-441-6355.